It happened that a certain man living in the kingdom of this Raja lost a cow; one evening it did not come back to its stall from the grazing-ground; so the next day he set out to search for it and questioned every one he met.  He soon got news that a cow like his had been seen in the Raja’s herd.  So he went to look, and there, among the Raja’s cattle, he saw his own cow.  He asked the cowherd to let him take it away; but the cowherd refused to do so without a written order from the Raja.  So the owner went off to the Raja and claimed his cow; but the Raja would not listen and gave him only abuse and turned him out.  Then he went to his friends and asked them to help him but they were afraid to do anything and advised him to regard the cow as lost for good.

So the unfortunate man took his way homeward very unhappily; on the way he sat down by the bank of a stream and began to bewail his loss.  As he cried, Thakur took pity on him and sent a jackal to him.  The jackal came and asked why he was crying, and when it had heard the story of the loss of the cow, it said “Cheer up! go back to the Raja and tell him that you want a panchayat to settle the matter about the cow; and that you intend to call one whether he agrees to abide by its decision or no.  If he agrees, come back quickly to me and I will arrange to get back your cow for you.”  So off went the owner of the cow to the Raja and told him that he wanted to call a panchayat.  The Raja made no objection and bade him call the neighbours together.  The poor man did so and then hurried off to the jackal and told it how things had turned out.  The jackal returned with him to the outskirts of the city and then sent him to the Raja to say that the panchayat must be held on the plain outside the city—­for the jackal was afraid of the dogs in the city.

When the Raja received this message it made him very angry, however he went outside the city and met the panchayat and ordered them to get to business quickly.  Then the owner of the cow stood up and told his story and the neighbours who had assembled called to him encouragingly, but the jackal sat in the background and pretended to be asleep.  When the tale was finished, the Raja told the people who had assembled to give their decision, but they were all so afraid of the Raja that not one ventured to speak.  As they kept silence the Raja turned to the owner of the cow.  “Well, where are the people who are going to judge the case?  No one here will say a word.”  “That is my judge,” said the man pointing to the jackal.  “Why it is fast asleep; what sort of a judge is that?” But just then the jackal shook itself and said.  “I have had a most remarkable dream.”  “There, he has been dreaming, instead of listening to the case.” exclaimed the Raja.